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  • Joe and Vicki Vermedahl relax on their living room couch in their home, which will be one of the featured homes on the Founder's Day home tour Saturday. Rebeka Rutledge/The Duncan Banner

    Joe and Vicki Vermedahl relax on their living room couch in their home, which will be one of the featured homes on the Founder's Day home tour Saturday.

  • The trees in front of the Vermedahl residence no longer exist. They were destroyed by a tornado not long after the couple bought the home in 1974. Photo Submitted

    The trees in front of the Vermedahl residence no longer exist. They were destroyed by a tornado not long after the couple bought the home in 1974.
June 21, 2012

Homeowners excited to show off property

Rebeka Rutledge The Duncan Banner

DUNCAN — Third time was a charm for Joe and Vicki Vermedahl when they were asked to participate in the annual Duncan Founder’s Day Historical Homes tour.

When the couple was first asked by tour coordinator Fran Boyd a couple of years ago, they had just retired and didn’t feel that their home was ready to be viewed in that aspect and last summer, Vicki said they were gone too much to get it ready. This year, however, they said yes and kicked themselves into gear on several projects.

“The reason we agreed to be on the tour is to share our fondness for older homes and to show what can be done with them,” Joe said. “Older homes are often less predictable in design and layout than their new counterparts and can become even more interesting.”

Their home, at 1215 Cedar Ave., is believed to have been built in 1924 and 50 years later, the Vermedahls became its third owners. Both being from Iowa, where large trees are everywhere, when they moved to the area, they wanted a house that felt like home.

“We wanted big trees and we got them,” said Joe. “We were here for barely three months when a tornado came and took all the trees.”

They have done a number of remodeling projects over the years to keep the home comfortable and upgraded. These included adding central heating and air and a sun porch with a barn door theme, widening the driveway, constructing a carport and covered patio and converting the garage into a family room.

In 1982, the Vermedahls covered the yellow lapboard on the outside of the house with used brick.

In order to get ready for the tour, the couple has completed a few projects that have been on their list for quite some time, focusing for the most part on the outside.

“We pulled out a lot of the hedge that died during the drought and planted crapemyrtle trees and we painted the trim,” said Vicki. “That’s one of the advantages of being on the tour is that you get stuff done.”

Another advantage for Vicki is that she got to instruct her husband on the fine art of deep cleaning the house. Joe teased her by saying he thought that just meant tossing a few things into the nearest closet.

The Vermedahls’ home is full of beautiful furniture and every room is tastefully decorated. There are a number of items to see, especially in the bedrooms, where Vicki has set up multiple pieces from her family’s past.

For those that aren’t as interested in antiques and fashions, you may be drawn by some star power. Joe happens to be second cousins with Kevin Sorbo, who is best known for playing the lead character in the “Hercules” television series.

Proudly displayed on the wall of their family room are a couple of autographed pictures and even a family photo of the famous actor.

The couple has gone on the annual tour for several years and have even incorporated some of what they have seen throughout the years, said Vicki. They have always had a love of older homes and enjoy looking around at the local ones.

“It’s always great to acknowledge history and learn more about the community,” said Vicki. “It’s good for community pride.”

They plan to use the last few days before the tour, which will be from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, to put the finishing touches on their property.

“We enjoy having people in our home because we’ve had comments that it’s very homey and we hope people feel that way when they leave,” said Vicki. “We’d do it all over again.”

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